He gives power to the faint

On the anniversary of her grandmother's death Noel Piper remembers her faith and witness and also that - at the end - her suffering caused her to wonder whether she was a Christian: "Surely, she thought, if my faith were true and strong, God wouldn’t have let me come to this—too sick and weak to get out of bed. Maybe, she thought, my whole life has been a lie." Now, twenty-eight years later, she describes the lesson her grandmother's experience taught her. It is an important lesson for each of us as our parents grow old and as we are made increasingly aware of our own weakness and vulnerability:

.... Though Satan is never stronger than Jesus, he may seem stronger when we become weaker. When we are weak and sick and old, we may be the most vulnerable of any other time in our lives. And considering that our enemy is wily as a serpent waiting for an opportune moment to strike, perhaps the saints who have remained the strongest throughout life face the greatest temptation when finally they are weak.

I write about Grandmother today for 3 reasons:

1. Every one of us is older than we used to be, and as more time passes, we will probably become weaker. We need to be on guard against the sneaky lies of our enemy.
2. We know or will know someone who needs encouragement when life closes in and he or she loses sight of the God who has been known well and trusted deeply until now.
3. As someone we love draws closer to death, we must never give up praying that God preserve faith strong to the end.

And I—now a grandmother myself—urge you to hide this assurance in your heart:

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”
[John 10:27-30]

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
[Psalm 73:26]
A Giant In My Life :: Desiring God